MG-Rover.org Forums banner

Another rival to a potential MG sports car emerging...

9K views 67 replies 25 participants last post by  EbeneezerGoode 
#1 ·
#2 ·
And no it will just be an over proced Jap knock off!

No wonder many have little to no interest in "Modern" cars as they are all just the same. In fact until one get close enough to read the badge it could almost be any make. At least the 60's and 70's cars were individual.
 
#3 ·
And no it will just be an over proced Jap knock off!

No wonder many have little to no interest in "Modern" cars as they are all just the same. In fact until one get close enough to read the badge it could almost be any make. At least the 60's and 70's cars were individual.
I've been looking for a 'new' car for a while now and nothing has taken my interest. As you say, they all look the same euro-box bland styling.

Then again, the shape of new cars are down to health and safety.
Bumpers and bonnets have to meet regulations I believe. Dont want people hurt more than the should be when getting hit with a couple of ton metal.

Cars are no longer individual and if they are they're mega expensive...
 
#9 ·
BMW working with Toyota on sports car as well...

BMW, Toyota agree to platform on shared sports car

Automotive News
June 29, 2015 - 8:50 am ET
MUNICH (Bloomberg) -- BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp. are moving ahead on a project to jointly develop a midsize sports car with an agreement on common underpinnings of major components for the model.

The program to create the vehicle is “progressing according to plan” with the accord on the platform, BMW said today in an emailed response to questions.

Carmakers are trying to ease the burden of investing in new models as the cost of technology such as autonomous driving and more efficient engines strains profitability. The difficulty of reaching adequate returns on spending has prompted Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne to advocate for consolidation in the industry.

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, and BMW, the biggest producer of luxury vehicles, outlined plans for the sports car in early 2013 and said in November 2014 that they’d reached the concept phase for the vehicle after completing a technical feasibility study. The manufacturers have declined to specify where the model might be built or when production would start.

The carmakers’ cooperation alliance also includes research projects on fuel cells. Testing of a first set of components remains scheduled for 2020, BMW said.

Contact Automotive News
 
#10 ·
It was on my list as well, and had it been available 3-6 months earlier, and lived up to the promise I may well have bought one.
It looks pretty good, but the skyactive engine could still be its Achilles heel. It's not very economic and a bit gutless - at least that's been our experience over the past two years
 
#14 ·
I always preferred found on road dead for ford ^^

Especially in the past 2-3 years I think cars are a lot more original and more vaired in thier looks. Look at the options on things like the juke, adam, mini, and even the mg3 (hell its one of the main things mg got right on the 3.

compared to the 80's and 90's when sierras looked the same as cavaliers, novas and fiestas were indistinguishable, headlights were all either square or round... And that's befor you even get started on the interiors
 
#16 ·
This week, Autocar has a big article on the future of the MINI brand and their cover features the proposed new MINI Roadster, intended as a rival to the Mazda MX-5, which the magazine also tests and records as brilliant. One of the Autocar journos also says an almost tearfully fond good bye to his long-term test Toyota GT-86.

Now I know this is an MG forum and some reading this will be critical for talking positively about other makers, but the point is that an MG entry in this market sector could do so much for our favourite marque.
 
#19 ·
The problem I have with MG is yes I do think they need a mx-5 competitor but even the current range isn't being made sporty there is no lukewarm range like FR or ST, which is a shame.

Where is the bloody MG3 turbo, I have been waiting since launch for a modern engine. (at least i have all my money saved up).

I do think Mg would sell enough to make it viable.

SAIC have made a mistake trying to make the brand mainstream without having the 'traditional' MG first. Having a sportscar would help to lift the brand.

Its good to see Mini going from strength to strength and it does make me think if BMW persisted with Rover and MG back in 2000 we would be talking about a 3rd gen MGF instead of a Mini right now.
 
#20 ·
I went along to a new MG dealer launch last week Roadworthy Bristol
http://www.roadworthybristol.co.uk/mg

The salesman confirmed what has been reported for the last seven or eight months, the MG3 Turbo fitted with the 1.4 GM unit will be available forth quarter this year. Same engine will be available with a dsg gearbox for the MG6. The GS will be launched at same time.

I guess you can take these statements with a pinch of salt, but the Facelift MG6 launch date was spot on. That was being reported 12 months prior to launch!!
 
#21 ·
The salesman confirmed what has been reported for the last seven or eight months, the MG3 Turbo fitted with the 1.4 GM unit will be available forth quarter this year. Same engine will be available with a dsg gearbox for the MG6. The GS will be launched at same time.


they'll have to have the new engines by September as after that all new cars have to be euro6 compliant and i am pretty sure there current range of engines aren't. So they need to have the new euro6 engines out by then.
 
#24 ·
KIA promises a sports car...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/kia-promises-first-sports-car-2020

Kia promises first sports car by 2020
Kia's new sports car will take inspiration from the GT and GT4 Stinger concept cars, and be on sale by the end of the decade


by Richard Bremner
5 August 2015

Kia will launch its first sports car “by the end of the decade”, according to UK boss Paul Philpott.

Details of the new model are limited, although Kia says it will draw from the knowledge it has gained from developing the widely admired GT and Stinger GT4 concepts. The GT is an elegantly aggressive four-door, rear-drive coupé, while the Stinger is a more compact coupé in the mould of the Toyota GT86.

The new car will be a model in its own right rather than being based on another Kia and will be “affordable”, according to Philpott. He added that it will need to be sold worldwide to achieve viable production numbers.

Such a move means the US market will influence its format heavily, although Philpott expects the model to contribute usefully to Kia’s ambition of selling 100,000 cars annually in the UK before the decade is out. This year the company expects to sell slightly more than 80,000 vehicles here.

Philpott also confirmed that a B-segment crossover, designed to compete with Nissan’s Juke, will arrive within two years. Kia previewed a possible crossover with the Provo concept at the 2013 Geneva motor show. “We’ll do it right and be a force to be reckoned with,” said Philpott.

Following a relatively slow period of new model introduction - the latest Sorento is the brand’s only new model in 2015 - there is set to be a spate of new models from Kia as several models approach the end of their six-year life cycles.

Key among these will be the replacement for the best-selling Sportage crossover. It will appear early next year, preceded by the UK launch of the new Optima saloon revealed at the New York motor show in April.

The next Picanto will arrive in 2017, but no date has yet been set for the debut of the new sports car.
 
#41 ·
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/kia-promises-first-sports-car-2020

Kia promises first sports car by 2020
Kia's new sports car will take inspiration from the GT and GT4 Stinger concept cars, and be on sale by the end of the decade


by Richard Bremner
5 August 2015

Kia will launch its first sports car “by the end of the decade”, according to UK boss Paul Philpott.

Details of the new model are limited, although Kia says it will draw from the knowledge it has gained from developing the widely admired GT and Stinger GT4 concepts. The GT is an elegantly aggressive four-door, rear-drive coupé, while the Stinger is a more compact coupé in the mould of the Toyota GT86.

The new car will be a model in its own right rather than being based on another Kia and will be “affordable”, according to Philpott. He added that it will need to be sold worldwide to achieve viable production numbers.

Such a move means the US market will influence its format heavily, although Philpott expects the model to contribute usefully to Kia’s ambition of selling 100,000 cars annually in the UK before the decade is out. This year the company expects to sell slightly more than 80,000 vehicles here.

Philpott also confirmed that a B-segment crossover, designed to compete with Nissan’s Juke, will arrive within two years. Kia previewed a possible crossover with the Provo concept at the 2013 Geneva motor show. “We’ll do it right and be a force to be reckoned with,” said Philpott.

Following a relatively slow period of new model introduction - the latest Sorento is the brand’s only new model in 2015 - there is set to be a spate of new models from Kia as several models approach the end of their six-year life cycles.

Key among these will be the replacement for the best-selling Sportage crossover. It will appear early next year, preceded by the UK launch of the new Optima saloon revealed at the New York motor show in April.

The next Picanto will arrive in 2017, but no date has yet been set for the debut of the new sports car.
Not the first Kia sports car, have they forgotten about the Kia Elan ?
 
#25 ·
The other half of Kia/Hyundai doesn't seem so sure........

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/hyundai-uncertain-sports-car-future


Hyundai uncertain on sports car future
Hyundai's plans to launch a sports car based on 2014's PassoCorto concept have been shelved, for now


by Jim Holder
5 August 2015

Hyundai is continuing to monitor the sports car market for a possible future launch but has yet to make a business case for such a car, according to UK boss Tony Whitehorn.

Now-departed Hyundai Europe boss Allan Rushforth had previously said the firm was looking at a premium sports car to help increase the emotional appeal of the brand, with inspiration coming from 2014’s PassoCorto concept. However, since Rushforth left Hyundai for Nissan, the idea appears to have been put on the backburner.

“Not many people make money out of sports cars,” Whitehorn said. “The sports car market is shrinking dramatically, and even firms with heritage and a great product are struggling. Aside from the Audi TT and Mazda MX-5, it is a tough place to be.”

Instead, Hyundai is said to currently favour producing warmer versions of its existing line-up, culminating with 2017’s N brand launch. “If you can produce cars that add shine to the rest of your range, the case is that much stronger,” said Whitehorn.
 
#27 ·
BMW's view from last November:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...rts-car-heyday-over-as-super-rich-eyes-wander
(Bloomberg) -- BMW AG said sports cars may never find as many buyers as they did in the market’s glory days before the global recession.
“The sports-car market is roughly half of what it used to be,” Ian Robertson, BMW’s head of sales, said in an interview at the manufacturer’s headquarters in Munich. “Post-2008, it just collapsed. I’m not so sure it’ll ever fully recover.”

In Europe and North America, the car’s role as a status symbol has diminished, with sport-utility vehicles and their smaller crossover cousins becoming more popular. In China and emerging markets, Robertson said, hot weather, pollution and a penchant for chauffeur-driven limousines have made sports cars less popular among well-heeled clients.

Despite the downturn, selling a car built for speed and performance -- priced at a relatively high margin -- is an important part of building a brand’s allure. That’s why BMW, known for turning out sporty luxury vehicles, is teaming up with Toyota Motor Corp. to share development costs on a new mid-size sports car, Robertson said. The duo said last week their project has moved to the concept stage after completing a feasibility study. They declined to provide details.

Auto markets in Europe and North America, where cars like Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz SLK and Audi’s TT are popular in the sports segment, are recovering slowly after the financial crisis sent demand to the lowest in decades. Annual growth in excess of 10 percent in Asia has helped offset the declines.

Sales Slump

Combined global sales of the TT, SLK and BMW’s Z4 peaked at about 114,000 in 2007 before slumping 45 percent by 2010, according to research company IHS Automotive. Demand in China has remained negligible, while global sales are expected to reach about 72,000 vehicles by the end of the decade, IHS said.

“The market has been diluted with more offerings designed to appeal to the kind of demographic traditionally associated with these models,” Tim Urquhart, a London-based analyst at IHS, said in an e-mail. “Young, urban upwardly mobile professionals are now able to buy a much wider range of lifestyle vehicles other than sports cars.”

BMW is boosting sales of its other vehicles even as the sports segment stagnates. Global deliveries for the brand gained 9.3 percent in the first 10 months of the year to 1.47 million cars, putting the group as a whole, including its Mini and Rolls-Royce nameplates, on track to sell more than 2 million vehicles this year, the company said today.

Automakers tend to look for partners to limit costs of developing new technology and small-scale vehicles. Other tie-ups include Daimler’s cooperation with the Renault SA-Nissan Motor Co. alliance, which has been gradually expanding beyond projects such as new versions of Daimler’s Smart city cars and Renault’s Twingo subcompact.

BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, and Toyota agreed in 2013 to collaborate on the underpinnings of a vehicle, the most visible project within a broader partnership that also includes cooperation on fuel cells and lightweight technology.

BMW is “taking very progressive steps with this now, and we’ll see how it goes in the months ahead,” Robertson said.
 
#28 ·
Sports car volumes are seldom high, but it is what they can do for a brand that truly counts. There are many ways to do it - very low volume like the MG RV8, Middle volume like the MGF and MG TF, higher volume like the MGB and Mazda MX-5, joint platforms like the Mazda/Fiat/Abarth or rumoured BMW/Toyota. KIA tends to veer more towards a younger "sportier" image than the "mature" Hyundai, so the difference between the two Korean bedfellows makes some sense (even if it loses a potential platform share opportunity). When you have a brand name that screams sports cars, you surely ignore the sporting potential at the risk of turning the brand into porridge and lose the chance to move it upmarket.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top